Wow, I just realized that I never gave you the "P" in MAP. My apologies. As a reminder, M is about discovering your MOTIVATION. Think of it like this, why are you willing to go above and beyond to attain something or become something when others are not? What do you care about passionately? A is for ABILITY. What abilities do you have? What comes naturally? What skills have you learned? What abilities have you gained through the school of hard knocks? Which ones fit well with your motivation?
Context
OK, now let's finish our MAP. P is for Personality. You can look at personality from 2 perspectives. One is descriptive of who you are and the other is learning how to use personality to connect with others so they can help you take your Motivation and Abilities to the next level. Today we'll focus on who you are.
There are numerous personality systems that are used by large corporations, the military, jury consultants and even dating services to identify how someone would fit in certain roles pertaining to how they would act in that role. These systems can be very complex and confusing to quickly understand. However, for this post, I just want you to understand a very simple concept of personality... who you are and what it may mean to how you live out your MAP.
At its core, personality can be broken into 2 axes. The first has task oriented people at one end of the spectrum and people oriented people live at the other end. The second has more assertive people at one end and less assertive people at the other. When overlaid these two axes create 4 quadrants: Task/More Assertive, Task/Less Assertive, People/Less Assertive and People/More Assertive. Let's assign a color to each. Task/More Assertive - Red, Task/Less Assertive - Blue, People/Less Assertive - Green and People/More Assertive - Yellow. Can you identify yourself in one of these? No, well let's talk about what each wants. The Task/More Assertive person wants Results, Task/Less Assertive - Process, People/Less Assertive - Loyalty and People/More Assertive - Inspiration. Does that help? Still not quite there? Well let's look at their favorite word. Task/More Assertve - Now!, Task/Less Assertive - How?, People/Less Assertive - We and People/More Assertive - Me. Do I hear some of you grumbling I'm more than one of these? That's exactly right. We all have some of each in us. But one is almost always stronger than the others.
What Fits and What Doesn't
So by understanding the strongest part of your personality you can get a good idea of the P in your MAP. You'll understand both what roles may create an environment to release your genius and which ones most likely won't. On the positive side, if you're Red, you'll find you gravitate to situations where you can make quick decisions about the big picture; Blues will find roles that take time to analyze the data and follow a process. Greens will create an environment that allows everyone to get along and work together. And Yellows will often find themselves as the center of attention inspiring those around them.
On the negative side, if your strongest is Red, then your genius probably isn't in a role which requires patience and warm fuzzies. If it's Blue, you may not be suited for the inspirational leader role . Greens often have difficulties being in a let's get things done now role that demands quick decision making regarding big picture strategic direction. And Yellows are truly uncomfortable in situations that necessitates detailed analysis or that are purely an individual intellectual endeavor.
WARNING!
However, don't mistake the role or situation with the industry. I've known each of the colors to have great success in a variety of industries. For example, Blues tend to make up the large percentage of Creative Directors in Advertising Agencies. Hmmm, that doesn't seem quite right you say. Well as Creative Directors they direct the creative "process" at the agency. Now do you see? I also know several Yellows who are superstar accountants. I can hear you saying that can't be, but let me explain. Personality does not indicate ability or intellectual capacity. These Yellows entered the industry as all accountants do but then found the role that fit their personality. Almost all of the Yellows I know now have their name on the door and are typically the face of the firm. Making sense now?
Breaking It Down
So at its core figuring out your personality comes down to two simple questions:
1. Are you more Task or People oriented?
2. Are you more or less Assertive (Do they Ask or Tell)?
Find your MAP and live your Genius.
Happy MAPping!
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